I wanted to try my hand at casting something in fiberglass - does anyone have a link on how to use it and where to get some? Thanks!
Fiberglass tutorial and where to buy?
- Thread starter Hecubus114
- Start date
SmilingOtter
Master Member
I've never tried it, but Thurston James' Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook has some good information on fiberglass, vacuum forming, etc.
exoray
Master Member
When I came across this tutorial I thought it to be an excellent newbie guide...
http://www.bioweapons.com/BIOWEAPONS/HowToStep2.htm
There is still a lot more to it, learning technique and practice will be your best friends...
One thing I do different from the above tutorial is I purchase a bunch of cheap paint brushes and cut the bristles real short so they are stiff... Then rather then dipping the cloth in a bowl of resin and laying it on like the tutorial I deviate... I take one of the brushes and brush a layer of resin inside the mold then immediately lay a piece of dry cloth on top of the fresh resin, then taking the stiff short bristled brush I smooth out the cloth and push it into the resin removing all air bubbles and adding/brushing on additional resin as necessary to completely soak the cloth... For me this makes controlling the amount of resin easier and produces a cleaner job... Every time I have tried to soak the cloth in a bowl and lay it up it's just become a mess (literally) and it's harder control the amount of resin to cloth ratio...
And the reason I purchase a bunch of stuff is that it's not worth cleaning... Use your brush and gloves until the resin kicks and grab new ones and continue... Also precut the cloth, have multiple sizes handy and organized so you can quickly grab one of the appropriate size for the area you are working on...
It's a MESSY job, start with small batches of resin it will kick and be useless faster then you can lay it up if you do too much... And one last thing do it in a cool area, if you do it on a hot summer day you will not be a happy camper as it really speeds up the kicking of the resin and at least for me messing with the catalyst ratios to control kicking times is more of a pain then it's worth unless you do it all the time and have a feel for it...
Edit as to where to purchase, get the cloth/fiber online from a boat repair or surfboard shop or even Ebay... The resin can be picked up locally at Wal-mart or just about any car parts store, this saves hazardous sipping fees that can drive the cost higher then picking it up locally ... Or if you live in a more populated area visit a boat repair shop (or yellow pages a fiberglass shop) and see if they will sell to you...
http://www.bioweapons.com/BIOWEAPONS/HowToStep2.htm
There is still a lot more to it, learning technique and practice will be your best friends...
One thing I do different from the above tutorial is I purchase a bunch of cheap paint brushes and cut the bristles real short so they are stiff... Then rather then dipping the cloth in a bowl of resin and laying it on like the tutorial I deviate... I take one of the brushes and brush a layer of resin inside the mold then immediately lay a piece of dry cloth on top of the fresh resin, then taking the stiff short bristled brush I smooth out the cloth and push it into the resin removing all air bubbles and adding/brushing on additional resin as necessary to completely soak the cloth... For me this makes controlling the amount of resin easier and produces a cleaner job... Every time I have tried to soak the cloth in a bowl and lay it up it's just become a mess (literally) and it's harder control the amount of resin to cloth ratio...
And the reason I purchase a bunch of stuff is that it's not worth cleaning... Use your brush and gloves until the resin kicks and grab new ones and continue... Also precut the cloth, have multiple sizes handy and organized so you can quickly grab one of the appropriate size for the area you are working on...
It's a MESSY job, start with small batches of resin it will kick and be useless faster then you can lay it up if you do too much... And one last thing do it in a cool area, if you do it on a hot summer day you will not be a happy camper as it really speeds up the kicking of the resin and at least for me messing with the catalyst ratios to control kicking times is more of a pain then it's worth unless you do it all the time and have a feel for it...
Edit as to where to purchase, get the cloth/fiber online from a boat repair or surfboard shop or even Ebay... The resin can be picked up locally at Wal-mart or just about any car parts store, this saves hazardous sipping fees that can drive the cost higher then picking it up locally ... Or if you live in a more populated area visit a boat repair shop (or yellow pages a fiberglass shop) and see if they will sell to you...
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